


Brew Me a Kiss

by sohox



Category: Rhett & Link
Genre: College AU, M/M, Mythical Secret Santa, coffee shop AU, sweeter than a candy cane, will rot your teeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-25
Updated: 2019-12-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21734668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sohox/pseuds/sohox
Summary: “Okay! So, there’s this super hot barista who can guess your drink order just by looking at you, and by asking you about your favorite song.” The glee on Gregg's face made Link want to die. He was such a nerd. “He’s like a walking Buzzfeed quiz!”
Relationships: Rhett McLaughlin/Link Neal
Comments: 8
Kudos: 82
Collections: Mythical Secret Santa 2019





	Brew Me a Kiss

**Author's Note:**

  * For [galacticnocturne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/galacticnocturne/gifts).



> GalacticNocturne, I hope you enjoy this little gift, I hope it was the bit of cheer that you needed this season! 
> 
> Thank you to my beautiful friend apparentlynotreallyfinnish for the beta work she did on making this picture perfect.

“And they always have live musicians playing really good music. Like  _ really _ good music. None of that Starbucks Kenny G bullshit.” Gregg was waxing poetic about his new favorite coffee place again. It was a little off the beaten path, too far from campus to be convenient, which was one of the reasons why Link kept avoiding it.

“I dunno man, I think our ideas of  _ good _ music might be a little different.” Link rolled his eyes. This was the third time Gregg had tried to convince him to go to this magical dreamworld. He wasn’t sure why he was so insistent upon it, other than the fact that Gregg  _ loved  _ to be the one to introduce his friends to new places, people or concepts. It was like a badge of honor for him. The dude was basically a few selfies away from becoming an Instagram influencer. 

“Well, the other day when I was there some dude with an acoustic guitar was playing a Merle Haggard song, so?”

Okay, so maybe that caught Link’s attention. His ear perked up. “Wait, Merle?”

“Yeah man! I’m telling you! It’s awesome! Just come with me tomorrow. Or we could go  _ right now. _ I’d be down for another cup of coffee.” He grabbed his jacket from the hook on the back of their dorm room door. 

Link rolled his eyes again. Honestly, he wouldn’t mind a cup either, but quite frankly, he’d be just as happy with his nitro cold brew with oat milk right from the big green mermaid herself. He wasn’t afraid of coming off as some yuppie. Trendy coffee joints with their reused mason jars and gluten-free  _ quinoa  _ or whatever were just not his scene.

Gregg must have seen the skepticism on his face because he persisted one more time. “I forgot to tell you the best part!”

“Better than the chocolate chip cookies?” Link teased.

“Yeah! I mean,  _ fuck _ , they’re good. But yes. Better.” 

Link sighed, exasperated. “Okay, let’s hear it.”

“Okay! So, there’s this  _ super _ hot barista who can guess your drink order just by  _ looking _ at you, and by asking you about your favorite song.” The glee on his face made Link want to die. He was such a nerd. “He’s like a walking Buzzfeed quiz!”

“Okay, now you’re just fucking with me, asshole.” Link pushed his hand through his shaggy black hair. He knew Gregg was never going to drop this until he sucked it up and indulged him. “Let’s go see this mythical man and his coffee divination skills.” 

  
  


* * *

Link was already regretting his decision as they waited in the line that had to be at least seven people deep. He hadn’t bothered to count, because then he’d have to lift his face up and risk locking eyes with the hot barista. 

He was the same hot guy from Link’s creative writing class. The one that wrote poems about the desert and relearning how to feel. He was the same one that frequently popped up in Link’s dreams at night, causing him to wake up, out of breath, sweating, stuck to his sheets. 

They were two people from the front of the line when Gregg wandered off, looking at art displayed on one of the walls. He was on the verge of thinking up an excuse to sneak out when the impossibly tall, golden-haired barista called out to him. “Link! Hey man! What brings you in?” A smile bloomed over his face, crinkling the corners of his green eyes. Link could’ve sworn the room got a little brighter, even in the soft golden glow of the evening light from the windows.

“Oh, uh. Coffee?” Link shifted from one foot to the other, swallowing hard. 

Rhett laughed. “Right! Coffee, of course.” Rhett ducked his head shyly just as Gregg bounced back up to his place beside Link. 

“Ahh, Rhett! I have brought you another patron seeking your psychic prowess!” 

Rhett rolled his eyes, grinning at them both. “I see! So you’ve heard the grand tales of my dazzling clairvoyance and you’ve decided to test them yourself?”

Link felt his mouth quirk into a crooked smile despite himself. “Yes, I’m here to be  _ dazzled _ .”

Rhett’s smile alone was doing the job, but Link wasn’t about to say  _ that _ out loud. “You don’t sound convinced.” 

“Link’s always been a skeptic.” Gregg shoved his arm playfully. 

“There’s no way you’re gonna guess my drink order just by asking me about the songs I like. No. Way.” 

Rhett’s grin turned mischievous as he stared Link down, refusing to release his gaze. “Oh? Well how about I do you one better?” Link shuddered at the way his voice dropped lower, caressing the words. ”I bet I can guess your drink order  _ and _ your favorite song.” 

Link huffed a laugh. “Okay,  _ that _ would be real impressive. Let’s see it.” 

“What are we wagerin’?” Rhett leaned forward over the bar between them, leaning down on his forearms so that he was looking up at Link, their faces were way closer than strictly necessary. Link felt his face burning. 

“What did you have in mind?”

“Well, if I get it wrong, your whole order is on me.” 

“And what do I have to give you if you get it right?”

Rhett grinned deliciously, “If I get it right, you have to give me your phone number. Deal?” 

Link’s glasses started to fog up because of the heat radiating off of his face. He pulled them off, cleaning them on his shirt. He felt his smile growing even bigger. “Okay, deal.”

Rhett spun around and immediately set to work, grabbing a plastic cup and filling it from their cold brew pitcher over just a touch of ice.  _ Okay, so that was a lucky guess,  _ Link thought to himself. Then he reached into the little mini fridge under the bar and pulled out a carton of oat milk with a flourish. Link felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

“How…?” He gaped at Rhett, who pumped in just a touch of liquid sugar before setting the whole thing under a tap system. 

Rhett looked over at Link, locking eyes with him again. “ _ Magic! _ ” He stage whispered, grinning as he pulled the silver lever, and Link’s drink fizzled with bubbles.

Link stood, totally dumbfounded, watching as Rhett grabbed a sharpie, writing what felt like a whole paragraph on the backside of the cup before setting it in front of Link, written side still facing Rhett, away from his view. 

Rhett placed both hands on the countertop, face level with Link’s. “You ready?” 

Link looked over to the side, if for no other reason than to break the overwhelmingly intense eye contact between them. Gregg had wandered off again, which was honestly for the best. His face was already warm enough, just having to face Rhett one on one. He nodded and reached for the cup. 

The backside read:

_ I'd been better off if I'd turned away _ _  
_ _ And never looked at you the second time _ _  
_ _ 'Cause I really had my life all together till your eyes met mine.  _

Link gasped, stunned. His hand trembled slightly and Rhett carefully reached up, grabbing the drink from Link’s hand and setting it safely on the countertop.

  
  


* * *

  
  


“Okay, but  _ how _ did you know my drink order and my favorite song?”

They were lying together on the couch in Link and Gregg’s dorm room, Link’s head pillowed against Rhett’s chest.

“It’s been two weeks and you still haven’t figured it out?” Rhett chuckled, fingers carding through the dark locks along the side of Link’s head, occasionally ghosting his fingernails along the soft skin tucked behind Link’s ear. “I asked Gregg! I’ve had a crush on you since the beginning of the semester. He and I were pretty tight last year in drafting class, and I remembered that he was your roommate. I asked him to lure you away from Starbucks so that I could woo you.” He planted a soft kiss to Link’s forehead.

Link grinned into Rhett’s chest, fingers tangling into his soft sweater. “Did you just say  _ woo _ ? You were going to try to  _ woo me?” _

Rhett chuckled and the way it rumbled through his chest felt like magic against Link’s cheek. 

“It worked, didn’t it?” He held Link even closer, arms tightening around his shoulders as if to never let him go. Link hoped he wouldn’t. He wanted to stay in this moment forever. ”I used my coffee magic to get you here, right where I want you.”

“You’re right. I am  _ wooed _ .” Link grinned, pressing tiny kisses to Rhett’s neck, right below where his beard stopped. 

“You know, we don’t even sell oat milk normally. I had to buy that and hide it in the mini-fridge  _ just _ for you.” 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for Liking, Commenting and Subscribing! You know what time it is! 
> 
> Find me on tumblr @ soho-x.tumblr.com


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